February 5, 2016

Zandzemble is a project of composer Mark Zandveld, in which he combines a string quartet with jazz musicians in an ensemble that seeks to integrate qualities of both the (mostly) written contemporary “classical” and the (mostly) improvised “jazz” idioms. The ten pieces on the CD vary greatly in character and during each the roles of each instrument change constantly: vibraphone, guitar and bass might add color and bottom to the interweaving counterpoint of the string quartet or improvise, vocal scats can be heard being invented over rhythmic string lines, the vibraphonist drops his mallets to play hand drums, the bass solos over a bed of strings or doubles a vocal bebop melody, string players solo over bass and snare drum, or everybody joins in on chromatically moving patterns over a latin 6/4 rhythm. All this stays in the melodic realm, rich in harmony – we’re not afraid of beauty.